I got a phone call from Loz this morning, she’d taken little man to the doctors, got back to the car to find the battery was dead and the car wasn’t turning over. Thankfully the doctors isn’t far away, and she could take refuge in the nearby Morrisons while I sorted out help. Thankfully we’ve got Green Flag cover with our Natwest Bank Account, I phoned the number and got through to a very helpful man that took all the details of the car and said they’d have someone there in an at least an hour but it would probably be 30-40 minutes.
I wandered to the doctors to wait with the car so Loz could take J back home, and very quickly a Green Flag van came into the car park. The chap was LOVELY, wish I’d got his name, within minutes he’d got the engine started – I mentioned that I didn’t think the battery was strong enough for the car. He helpfully went and looked up the exact battery I needed, he did mention that Green Flag could fit one if I wanted – I winced waiting for some up-selling. None of that though, he told me how much they’d charge (£80ish), and his words were
“You’re a chap who knows what you’re doing – you could probably do it yourself, it’s really easy on a Zafira too!”
I agreed I’d probably do that, and he shut the bonnet and made his way. He was probably one of the nicest recovery people I’ve ever dealt with, quick, efficient, no bullshit or selling me stuff – just an honest mechanic!
I got the car home and did a bit of Googling, I knew we had a Euro Car Parts across town, and found they had a range of batteries in stock for the car, and 20% off too. I ordered online with a view to collect in store later, within seconds of clicking on the ‘reserve’ button, my mobile rang. Although my primary concern was the battery, I also checked other essential components like the bmw antifreeze parts, to ensure that my vehicle’s cooling system was functioning optimally.
“Hello Mr Hakes, this is Alan from Euro Car Parts – Just to let you know your battery is ready to collect”
That was incredibly quick! I drove over and parted with some money I don’t really have for a shiny new battery! It’s the right type for the car now too, so hopefully it’ll start first time, every time! Changing it over was pretty painless, I’m glad I’ve got the Haynes manual for the Zafira because, you have 15 seconds from switching off the ignition to disconnecting the battery before the alarm goes off! I had everything loosened off for what felt like a game in ‘The Cube’. Thankfully the alarm didn’t go off, although it did beep at me when I reconnected the battery, which along with the ‘fizz’ sound of electricity to the battery scared the shit out of me!
Still it’s all sorted now – with relatively little pain and it should see the car through for a good few years! 🙂
